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Nova class
The Nova class was a type of Federation starship in service in the late 24th century. It was designed primarily as a science and scout vessel, used for long-term research and analysis after a region has been surveyed by larger explorer-type vessels. The Nova design was a relatively weak one; the ship is only capable of Warp 8, and its weaponry is limited to defensive phasers and torpedo launchers. One unique feature of the Nova was its Waverider shuttlecraft which was located in a special docking port on the dorsal side of the primary hull, similar to that of the Aeroshuttle on the ''Intrepid'' class. Technical Data The Nova class was one of Starfleet's most advanced scientific vessels, more advanced than that of an Oberth class. Physical Arrangement The Nova class has a design similar to that of an Intrepid class starship, though half the size. It consists of a saucer section with a curved triangular shape. The secondary hull is directly attached to the underside of the saucer with two warp nacelles. Command Systems Control of the Nova class comes from one computer core spanning decks 2 to 4 with no secondary core. Control interfaces onboard are of standard LCARS configuration. The computer system itself is isolinear based. Weaponry Though Nova classes are generally science vessels, they have a wide assortment of weaponry allowing the vessel to handle threats on its own. It is equipped with 11 strategically placed Phaser arrays (8 on the saucer, 3 on the secondary hull) and 2 forward facing photon torpedo launchers at the bow of the saucer opposite of the secondary deflector. The Nova-class is shown to be equipped with an additional third aft-facing torpedo launcher. This is not displayed on the MSD Deflector Shields Like most Starfleet vessels, the Nova class is equipped with a deflector shield for defensive purposes. Shields on a Nova-class can be fully recharged after charging the shield emitters for 45 seconds. The shield grid itself is located along the secondary hull. Engines The Nova-class is equipped with the three common engines found on Federation starships: RCS thrusters, an impulse drive and a warp drive. The thruster assemblies are located at the aft edges of saucer (port and starboard) and at the aft ends of the warp nacelles. The one impulse drive is located at the aft end of deck 2, with no secondary drive. They are also equipped with a standard matter/antimatter warp drive with two warp nacelles. The warp core spans 4 decks and can be ejected. Navigational Deflector In order to prevent space debris and objects from colliding and damaging the vessel, the Nova class is equipped with a navigational deflector at the bow of the secondary hull. If the main deflector is damaged or disabled, a secondary deflector on the saucer can be a substitute. Landing and Planetary Flight As a science vessel, Nova classes have the ability to land on planetary surfaces with four landing struts in the secondary hull. To further accommodate ease of research, Nova classes are designed to enter planetary atmospheres for long periods of time. Evacuation Like most starships constructed in the 24th century, Nova classes are equipped with 20 escape pods, 14 of which are on deck 3, four on deck 1 and two on deck 2, all in the saucer section. They are stored under hatches to permit both launch and retrieval. Though the escape pods can support more than the crew complement, the ship's shuttlecraft, Waverider and workbees could be used as additional evacuation vessels. Nova Interior Design Though a small ship, the Nova class is able to accommodate the needs of the crew for long missions. The class has 8 decks. *'Deck 1': Main Bridge, Captain's ready room *'Deck 2': Impulse drive reactors, mess hall, crew quarters *'Deck 3': Cargo bays, deuterium tanks, transporter room, crew quarters *'Deck 4': Main shuttlebay, Sickbay, escape pods, main computer core access, Waverider, auxiliary deflector, crew and officer quarters *'Deck 5': Docking ports, warp core access *'Deck 6': Main Deflector *'Deck 7': Tractor emitters, main engineering *'Deck 8': Antimatter storage, landing struts Main Bridge The main Bridge, located near the center of deck 1, is the command center for the ship. Despite the size of the ship, the Bridge is spacious allowing for the ease of movement between stations. At the center of Bridge are the command seats for the commanding and executive officers. The command officers have their own work console between the seats to access information for themselves. Infront of the command seats are the helm and Operations controls. The rest of the stations are located on the perimeter of the round Bridge, including the Master systems display behind the command seats. Stations like tactical are not stand-out stations due to the scientific nature of Nova classes. Enterance and exit to the Bridge is by access of two doors on the port and starboard sides of the Bridge. The port door leads to the main turbolift while the other door leads to a corridor to access other sections of deck 1. Main Engineering Main Engineering is located on deck 7 on Nova class starships. Engineering only spans one deck, features four wall based engineering consoles and a warp core analysis console infront of the core itself. At the far end of the room is the warp core with a transparent floor and railing around it. The core itself spans from decks 5-8 and can be ejected from the bottom of the ship. Access to the core can be from either engineering itself or maintenance areas located around the core. Sickbay Nova classes have one Sickbay located on deck 4, infront of the shuttlebay. They are also equipped with an Emergency Medical Hologram system. Science labs As a science vessel, the Nova class is equipped with a number of specially equipped science and research labs. The labs are similar to those found on an Intrepid class vessel and can serve many purposes and can support numerous personel. They feature a great number of work consoles to perform numerous tasks and features one main work console area in an alcove. Crew Quarters Due to the size of this class, crew quarters are not luxurious but provide all the standard needs for the crew. A majority of the quarters are standard crew quarters, though a number of them are larger for use by the senior staff. The majority of these larger quarters are located on decks 1 and 4, with slightly smaller ones located on decks 2 and 6. Shuttle and Cargo bays Behind the main Sickbay is the Nova class' shuttlebay, which can accomodate around 2 shuttlecraft. In the saucer on deck 4, a short trip from the shuttlebay, is the Nova class' Waverider craft. Spanning decks 2 and 3 infront of the shuttle bay are the main cargo bays which also contain Workbees for transportational and repair purposes. In Equinox, Part II, Crewman Thompson mentions that the shuttlebay is on deck three. This is technically incorrect, however, there may be access to the bay via this deck. Rhode Island Variant variant of the Nova class]] In an alternate timeline, a variant of the Nova class was created. The interior of the ship was almost the same, however, the exterior had a number of changes. The variant also had superior tactical firepower and shield strength to that of it's predecessor. Variant changes The Nova class variant features many changes, performance or visual-wise. *Dome added to Bridge. *Impulse engines combined to one reactor on deck 1. *Auxilary deflector reduced greatly, triangular shaped. The gap infront of it is filled in. *Dorsal intercoolers reduced to one on each warp nacelle from two. *Portion of the bussard collectors are covered by hull plating. *Escape pods replaced with Sovereign class pods Due to the Rhode Island's registry number, this variant may be probable in the real timeline. Commissioned Ships *[[USS Nova|USS Nova]] (NCC-73515) *[[USS Equinox|USS Equinox]] (NCC-72381) *[[USS Rhode Island|USS Rhode Island]] (NCC-72701) Appearances * VOY ** "Equinox, Part I" ** "Equinox, Part II" ** "Endgame" Background Information The Nova class starship was created by Rick Sternbach for VOY: "Equinox, Part I". It largely resembles the Defiant pathfinder design, whose top view is depicted in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual. Sternbach used this design as a basis for his ship design, which has similarities to the known Nova-class. The pathfinder design featured two forward-facing torpedo tubes where the auxilary deflector was (The torpedo tubes were then moved beside the deflector in Sternback's Nova). More windows were added to the pathfinder design, along with a new exterior Bridge design. The USS Nova, listed on a computer display in Star Trek: Nemesis, had a higher registry number than the USS Equinox. Allowing for the still somewhat unpredictable registry numbers (see the ships from Star Trek: First Contact), this was not necessarily a different ship. The USS Rhode Island is a future Nova-class variant, seen in the alternate 2404 in VOY: "Endgame". The registry is in the realm of the "real" timeline and compliments the registry of the Equinox but whether it is currently in the USS Equinox form or upgraded is unknown. This Nova-class is not related to the ''Galaxy''-class successor design studies in the Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual. The designation "Nova" had been tentatively assigned to the planned successor of the massive Galaxy-class explorers. Instead, the Nova seems designed to replace the ''Oberth'' class. Although Star Trek: Starship Spotter lists the Nova as having only two torpedo launchers, the design probably has at least three because we saw the Equinox fire an aft torpedo in VOY: "Equinox, Part II". Reference * Adam "Mojo" Lebowitz & Robert Bonchune. Star Trek: Starship Spotter. New York: Pocket Books, 2001. ISBN 0-7434-3725-X Category:Starship classes de:Nova-Klasse